Description
‘Some characters are grotesque, and most are very mistaken, but their authenticity and humanity are poignant … Angel Caging is funny, startling and sometimes profound.’
– Jo Cannon, author
A broken stand-up comic tries to find the funny side of memories of copulating ponies and childhood depression. A father and son bond through pig abuse. Fruit flies get organised. An interstellar poet learns the hard way about Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. The turkeys celebrate their victory over the manthings. A woman loses the ability to talk while her husband watches X Factor. These twenty-nine short and very short stories are by turns absurd, moving, evocative and human.
From the cover
How do we get out when the world traps us inside?
There is no single escape for the characters in these twenty-nine short and very short stories. Some of them break, some unwind, some rewind, some leave the planet, some scream at the wind, others lock themselves away and forget they were ever here. One or two simply ascend.
It’s often the only practical way out of the cage.
Martin Reed’s short fiction has been published widely in print and online. This is his first collection.
